Fakhoury visits Japan ahead of King’s tour

AMMAN — Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury on Sunday concluded a visit to Japan, in preparation for His Majesty King Abdullah’s upcoming visit to Tokyo, slated to start on October 26, the ministry said.

Fakhoury met with Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Taro Aso, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kentaro Sonoura and officials from the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the ministries of finance and foreign affairs, as well as members of Japan’s parliament, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation said in a statement. 

The minister was joined by Jordan’s Ambassador to Japan Demiye Hadad at the meetings, where he discussed bilateral relations and Japan’s support to Jordan, the ministry said. 

Fakhoury expressed Jordan’s appreciation for Japan’s technical and financial support as well as Tokyo’s additional grants which were directed to the Jordan Response Plan (JRP) in the health, water and services fields.

He also thanked Japan for contributing to the Global Concessional Financing Facility managed by the World Bank, which has been critical to the Kingdom and enabled it to be the first to benefit from this facility.

Fakhoury called on Japan to continue to support Jordan as a key and strategic partner, and to provide sufficient grants to the JRP in order to enable the Kingdom to continue providing services to Syrian refugees and host communities.

The minister outlined the economic situation in light of regional developments and the continuous impact of the influx of Syrian refugees and he reviewed progress in implementing the Jordan Compact and the outcomes of the London donor conference to support Syrian refugees and host countries. 

Jordan hosts over 1.3 million Syrians, according to official figures. 

The two sides discussed the projects to be signed before the end of the year, and the possibility that Japan may provide a grant to support the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project, specifically in desalination.

They also discussed the Japanese initiative, the “peace and prosperity corridor”, which aims at supporting the Palestinian economy. 

The second Japanese-Jordanian policy dialogue meeting will be held in November, in which the two sides will discuss stances towards issues of common interest and the priorities of cooperation for 2017-2018, according to the statement.

The total value of Japanese aid to Jordan has reached $1,021 billion since 1999, in funding of development projects and support for the state budget.